American Expansion Post-Reconstruction America Gave Rise to Thesis

American Expansion

Post-Reconstruction America gave rise to an incredibly transformative society and culture. Modernism was beginning to sweep the land with the industrial revolution, urbanization and westward expansion. How did the underprivileged fare in this new America? What were the experiences and problems of the Native Americans, women, African-Americans, and various immigrant groups at this time? Be specific. Was there a gap between the rhetoric of hope and democracy peddled by American institutions and leaders and the reality on the ground for the masses? What of the meanings of The New Colossus on one had, and the Chinese Exclusion Act on the other? What do these represent about historical development and issues of libery in the late 19th century U.S. In conclusion, how do authors Stone and Kuznick, in the beginning of their text Untold History, frame the problems of writing and the telling of history, and how do those concepts relate to these aforementioned issues above?

The United States went through a surplus of superficial changes from 1865 to the present day. Although many issues in the American way of life were addressed, many of these issues were dealt with in only a marginally effective way at best. Many such changes were introduced in the political systems, yet political posturing was slow or inept to bring social change to the American system of government has many which has strengths and weakness. Although most Americans are the freest people on the planet, this paradigm is only true with many reservations.

In fact, one way to look at freedom would be to consider that opposite of freedom -- incarceration. Currently the United States dominates the world in number of prisoners both per capita as well as the total population. The U.S. roughly has about five percent of the world's population, yet holds nearly fifty percent of the world's prisoners. Thus, at best, the American freedom is a perspective that is rather selective. The concept of American freedom can also be coupled with a sense of standing hypocrisy.This analysis will consider some of the greatest freedoms that Americas have gained since 1865 as well as some of the developments that have made the concept of freedom rather illusory.

Before reconstruction, expansion westward seemed perfectly natural to many Americans in the mid-nineteenth century; like the Massachusetts Puritans who hoped to build a "city upon a hill, "courageous pioneers believed that America had a divine obligation to stretch the boundaries of their noble republic to the Pacific Ocean (U.S. History N.d.). There were two sets of standards that were created for these ideals. One was given to those who could associate with the perceived moral and cultural superiority of the American way of life, and another for those who did not share these ideals. The expansion had many negative implications for the latter group that included Native Americans, women, African-Americans, and various immigrant groups.

In 1865, during reconstruction, this period undoubtedly is one of America's transformative efforts towards freedom. During this period, the U.S. made public strides towards allowing freedoms for all American men regardless of race or of ethnicity. For example, the Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery; the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed equal rights for all and citizenship for blacks; the Fifteenth Amendment prevented race from being used to disfranchise men. Despite these efforts, they were slow to translate into meaningful actions for those who were repressed; however the legislation that was passed was revolutionary and certainly set the stage for a series of later achievements.

The early American idealism, pre-reconstruction, developed out of several different perspectives that were upheld during a period of prosperity and growth. After the American Revolution, Manifest Destiny was used as a justification for expansion and this idea began to develop in the American consciousness. The idea of Manifest Destiny involved the concept of a sense of a God-given mission or destiny to spread its power, influence, and ideals to the far corners of the earth.….....